Road Food

I've never taken a liking to fast food burger joints. In fact I never even had one until I was in high school and I thought it just awful. The road food I remember was from my childhood. Every summer until I was 15 I spent at my grandparents in PA. I would be picked up the day after school ended, and returned right before Labor Day. And every summer there was a road trip. A magnificent two or three weeks in which we had a loose game plan, a state or two in mind and my Grandfather, with my Grandmother and me in tow would point his Rambler, his Charger or his Impala in some direction and we would be off. Now this wasn't extravagant travel. We stayed at Ho Jo's and motels with cabins like teepee's or with big neon signs in old style fonts that you just don't see an more. Almost always we found a place with a pool. Road food was off the beaten path, BBQ joints or home made pies, ice creams or cobblers and Southern Fried Chicken, little Mom & Pop Italian places, Rye breads and odd sounding dishes. Most I liked, some I didn't. There was chopped sirloin better tasting than most steaks these days. Good handmade hamburgers, grilled and served with heaping slices of ripe tomatoes and pickles and chips. Fish on Friday's always. Local food, neighborhood food almost always served with a smile and bit of conversation. All of it accompanied by new scenery, a lot of it pretty kitchy. Small sad little roadside zoos, big balls of string and rubber bands, giant fry pans, local natural history museums and all sorts of other funky things along any given route. There were few museums of art (my parents made sure that end of American culture was covered also), one summer some of the Smithsonian and of course all the other sites in D.C.. I've seen vast beautiful and buggy swamps, horses and buggy's used still as transportation, great lakes, citrus groves, nut farms, canyons, amazing mountains, miles and miles of corn, all sorts of snakes, roadrunners and scorpions, old growth and lush forests, abject poverty, Indian reservations, plains without buffalo, buffalo without plains, tobacco fields, waterfalls, wide rivers and small streams with bloody histories, steamboats, tractors and all sorts of things I know I've forgotten. I won't even go into some of the crazy, fun and stomach turning tours we went on. I had a fast food Wendy's hamburger Tuesday and while it was certainly nothing to be repeated unless I had to, the trip down Memory Lane was well worth the $2.99 price and resulting mild indigestion. Road food ain't what it use to be!

Now, onto weaving. I can still move when I have to and the towel warp was measured and wound on yesterday.

In fact, the threading has been started and I'm hoping to get it done today; sleyed and tied on for weaving. This is a mixed warp of organic colorgrown cotton and low impact dyed cotton, mostly 6/2, some 7/2 and two strands of 10/2 for a little color. They will be plain weave with a rosepath design of pine trees for the borders. For those that have the book, the design is #118 on page 31 of A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns. It uses 8 shafts (surprise surprise), and 11 treadles. The trees will be in dark green, of course!

Sett is 18 epi and it is 21" wide

These were my "helpers" yesterday. Stella actually listened when I told her the 5 yard warp chains were not play toys. Check out the tail in motion behind her head.

Dennett was channeling lots of calming vibes and his wise manner is always welcome in the studio.

And Jack was keeping my desk seat warm for me.

The Hollandia loom is at the other end of the studio, so he took over the vacant chair to keep a watchful eye on me and remind me of the threading pattern should I lose my place. With help like this you know the towels have got to be good!

A New Little Pet

Okay, I know what you all are thinking, is not 7 dogs, 3 cats, 5 horses and 5 goats enough? Yes, it is, but really how much trouble can one little Ladybug cause?

The long awaited birthday gift arrived home Friday and while the frantic pace of trip packing continues I have managed a little "getting to know you" spinning time in.

It was quite fun getting to assemble her down at the Web-sters with some help from Liz. I broke all the rules and left the box behind! Of course the first thing we did was find the Ladybug. Each one has it in a different place and here is mine.

I've been playing with different fibers in my stash. Basically a hodge podge just to get the feel of the wheel. She is very smooth and I think we are going to get on just fine. The plus is I can grab her easily, and move her around. She fits nicely upright and belted in in the back or front seat of my car and is quite sturdy. So far I haven't had a chance to test her out in the double drive mode, but when I get back from Massachusetts you can be sure we'll have more experimentation time.

Pogo thinks that each wheel should come with a little Chihuahua, or at least a pair of ears. ( This photo reminds me of circling sharks...)

Admittedly there are some days I would like to Velcro him somewhere but on my spinning wheel.....hmmmmm.

On farm news, the crappy weather is back and will be back for the remainder of the week. It will be a messy ride down to the airport early Thursday morning. I leave everyone in Gene's capable hands for the next two weeks. I won't be updating this blog but you can be sure I'll be keeping up with all the blogs I read and enjoy. So those of you who found yourself here somehow and it's seems to be languishing, PLEASE go check out some of the wonderful blogs listed to the right. See you all again here after May 14th!

In Search of Winter

Well, winter seems to have abandoned us here in Southern Oregon, looks more like April out there. So far the 3rd driest winter on record, which is bad news for summer and fire season. At this rate they may call the beginning of fire season in May!

Of course my wish for snow has been fulfilled in a different way this year. I am flying the friendly skies ( tongue in cheek) to MA for an early annual visit. In fact I leave Sunday. Some family health issues precipitated the early trip.

Needless to say, it has been a frenzy around here. How to stuff everything that needs to be done in 6 short days, but we're getting there.

Gene's scarf is off the loom and came out quite nicely. Of course I haven't been able to get a snap of Gene in it, since he has been in a rush out the door every time he's worn it ( he likes it). I figured the scarf looked just as nice on this silver haired gent and he's rarely in a hurry these days unless a leash is in hand.

I'll be pulling the rugs off the BV before I go, I hope. The Louet has been cleaned and the back folded up and will await my return patiently when I get back and weaving a blanket or two.

Angel is doing okay on the Prednisone. She is eating and active but pitifully thin no matter how much food I give her. Gene will keep a watchful eye on her and I have every hope she will be here to greet me when I get back on the 28th.

Things are pretty quiet on the farm front. Mud, mud and more mud. While the lack of snow and real cold is a pain to me, for Gene it makes care easier, he won't have to worry about plowing on top of all the farm duties.

As always when I travel, I will be reading all my favorite blogs but not updating mine,

so to everyone stopping by, have a great January! I'll be back in full blogging force in February.

Boott Cotton Mill

This probably will be the last of the Beverly trip posts. For those who are in the Boston area or who may be traveling there, the Boott Cotton Mill Museum in Lowell is a must see, especially for those that love textiles.

Lowell has recreated some of it's industrial history under the auspices of a National Park and the Boott Cotton Mill is one such place. Set up as a mill would look and run in the early 1900's ( about 1918 or so) for a small fee you can go in and learn how a textile mill was operated, from roving down to weaving. They have a hundred or so looms, even a couple of dobby looms that all run and weave. Upstairs are displays of fabrics made at the mill and many many exhibits to read and study. Some fun hands on stuff too. The towel was woven on one of the running looms in the exhibit.

During my visit I had an opportunity to watch the dobby loom in action ( had to ask special as I guess it is a bit fussy) and talk to some of the people running the weaving looms. What the book doesn't tell you is that in 1954 when the mill finally shut down, all the equipment was sold, scrapped etc and to recreate it all, they had to purchase every one of their looms from a textile mill closing in TN.  There is some question about how long they can run the looms even today. The large warps now come prewound, ready to put on the looms. The company making them is closing and unless another maker is found, those looms may again fall silent. So if you are going to visit I would do it soon. They only had abut 10 or 12 of the looms running at a time, but believe me, it's enough to give you an idea of the conditions. The noise and the dust must have been overwhelming and these mills ran every day for 12 hours or more.  For some more information on the mill this is a nice  http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/21boott/21boott.htm

You can also see my completed sock! The second one is underway and looking good.

I've also included some items my Dad wove and gifted me with. The linen towel and napkin is lovely. These were the first items he wove on his Louet Spring and what a great job he did too. The colorful napkins his very first weaving project on his own. He bought a gamp kit from Lunatic Fringe and made about 8 of these, all in different patterns.

 It's likely he will far exceed me as a technical/complex weaver. It makes it all so interesting to exchange ideas with each of us having a different focus and approach to our weaving. I certainly am pleased that I was able to pass the love of creating cloth onto him. 

Of course now we are both working on my Mother! She has been a singer for years, since a small child on radio actually and at 70 something has just given it up. She no longer feels inspired to sing and the standing for hours at long concerts has become an issue. She did mention that when she was young she use to rug hook. My plan is to have a simple rug hooking kit here when they come to visit and we'll learn together and see if it's something she might enjoy again.

On the farm front, Puck is still slinking about. I see him every few days. It's been hot and dry. The horses spending most of their time in the shade, head to tail, swatting flies. The goatie girls are fat and very sassy and have been doing a good job with keeping the browse down. We have two does that we see regularly, one with twins and one with a single who is easy to spot. The fawn is very light in shade, unusual really. It's a small fawn but she is very active and playful. A little later in the season the two does will hook up and graze together which gives us endless entertainment watching all the babies play.  

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Independence Day and weekend!

Back in the Saddle

It is amazing how quickly three weeks goes by. You think you have all the time in the world and then Poof!, suddenly you need to get that bag packed and ready to travel.

It was a delightful few weeks though, filled with good food, good company and some typically New England weather. The boating was fun and we had a few perfect days for it, took a little wire weaving class with my Dad at the local weaving store, girls night with my Mom, complete with romantic comedy ( Love Actually) and lots of shopping!

I came in late Tuesday night and was greeted with hugs, kisses and tail wags. Wednesday while I cleaned, I had eight velcro puppies not willing to let me out of their sights for a second lest I slip away.  Gene as usual did  great job juggling all the needs of the farm and has my unconditional thanks for taking on the task annually.

I would love to say this post is picture heavy, but I didn't take a single one. The camera got left at home on the desk.

I did get some weaving in, warped up my Dad's Spring loom with a simple waffle weave kitchen towel warp and just managed to finish the three of them before I left. One stayed, two traveled and what a wonderful loom it was to use!  A sock was completed, another started and some great books consumed. I also hit a super sale and scored some really great yarns and books and once all the stuff I had to ship to myself arrives, I will get some pictures. For right now, I need to catch up with all the blog posts I've missed, dust off the saddles and bridles and hit the trails for a few days. It's good to be home!

Off the Loom & Onto the Plane

I did indeed manage to get the prayer flags off and finished. With the different warp colors used they remind me of a plaid or madras of some sort. I also attached the bells differently and the blessing ring. The ring can be easily snipped off without any damage done to the flag itself. It's on a different colored thread for visibility.

This most likely will be the last update until I return on the 23rd of June. The farm and all the animals will be in Gene's capable hands and we talk at least once a day, usually twice. It is always bittersweet leaving though. I am homebody's home body. Other than my much enjoyed trips to town, I like being home. On the other hand, the draw of my folks and New England for a short respite from farm life is wonderful too. The days are lazy, the company and food can't be beat and there are enough furry friends in the household to ease the soul.

Bag is mostly packed and today will be spent on the few last minute things and lots of critter time before I head out in the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday.

I hope all of the wonderful people that come and visit my blog regularly have a great few weeks. I'll be keeping up with your posts for sure. For those finding themselves here by some magic, please check out some of the great blogs on my list. Lots of wonderful things to read about!

To those in the Beverly MA area with pet lobsters, watch out, I am armed with butter and lemons! ;-)